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File- This April 13, 2013 file photo shows New York Yankees Alex Rodriguez sitting in the dugout during a baseball game at Yankee Stadium in New York. Steinbrenner says he has been disappointed by Alex Rodriguez's behavior at times during the star third baseman's career in pinstripes. Steinbrenner made the comments after attending a news conference at Yankee Stadium on Monday to announce that the Big Ten and Pinstripe Bowl have agreed to an eight-year deal. Rodriguez is rehabbing his surgically repaired hip and is not expected back until after the All-Star break. Steinbrenner says the Yankees really need the three-time MVP to come back strong (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)

BOSTON — Major League Baseball appears ready to bring sweeping punishment to perhaps as many as 20 players who were involved in the largest doping scandal the sport has seen, according to an ESPN report Tuesday.

Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees and Ryan Braun of the Brewers both may face 100-game suspensions for receiving performance-enhancing drugs from a now-shuttered anti-aging clinic in Florida, Biogenesis of America. Tony Bosch, founder of Biogenesis, has agreed to cooperate with the league's investigation — a breakthrough for the league as it tries to clean up an awful mess.

Other players would presumably face first-time punishments of 50 games, although the players' union is likely to fight any discipline meted out.

No Red Sox were directly named in the ESPN report, and the Red Sox have not heard from the league about the Biogenesis situation, a baseball source told MassLive.com. Per the story, "The players who might ultimately face discipline from MLB include: Rodriguez, Braun, (Melky) Cabrera, (Bartolo) Colon, (Yasmani) Grandal, Nelson Cruz, Francisco Cervelli, Jesus Montero, Jhonny Peralta, CesarPuello, Fernando Martinez, Everth Cabrera, Fautini de los Santos, Jordan Norberto, and a number of players who are either identified by code names or whose names appear in other documents not obtained by 'Outside the Lines.' All are currently on major-league rosters but for Puello, a top outfield prospect for the New York Mets who is playing in Class AA Binghamton."

The 100-game punishment that Braun and Rodriguez could receive is the penalty players face for a second offense per MLB's drug policy. The league's argument for punishing them as second repeat offenders "is that the players' connection to Bosch constitutes one offense, and previous statements to MLB officials denying any such connection or the use of PEDs constitute another," ESPN wrote, citing a source.

Regardless of any pending suspension, Rodriguez isn't due back until after the All-Star break as he rehabs a surgically repaired hip. Just a day ago, Rodriguez took a knock from Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner, who said, "We all hope he's going to act like a Yankee."

"There have no doubt been times when we've been disappointed in him and we've conveyed that to him and he understands that," Steinbrenner said of Rodriguez. "But look, everybody's human and everybody makes mistakes. If you've got a guy over the course of 10 years, there's going to be times any of us make mistakes."